President s Message. Executive Board of Directors. Michael Vensel President Miami Dade College. Chris Elder President-Elect Florida Gateway College

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1 FALL 2012 Executive Board of Directors Michael Vensel President Miami Dade College Chris Elder President-Elect Florida Gateway College Meribeth Fields Secretary College of Central Florida Shirley Rehberg Treasurer Florida Gateway College Janita Patrick Past President Tallahassee Community College Marjorie Simon Publications Editor Palm Beach State College Shanna Autry Florida Department of Education Division of Florida Colleges Dr. Nick Bekas Valencia Community College Karen Eisenhauer Brevard Community College Deborah Fontaine Northwest Florida State College Megan Glenn Florida State College at Jacksonville Marguerite Jones College of Central Florida Donna Martin Florida State College at Jacksonville Karen Nails-Porter FCRC President Bethune-Cookman University Welcome to another year in the field of developmental education. I am honored to be serving as your president. As I was preparing to write this article for the newsletter, I began to wonder how many members actually know our purpose and where and how FDEA began. I would like to share with you a brief history into our organization. The purpose of the Florida Developmental Education is to improve the professional capabilities of developmental educators, the programs designed to prepare the developmental educators, and the practice theory, and delivery of developmental education. In the spring of 1977, approximately twentyseven instructors and administrators of developmental education met in Winter Park, Florida at the Langford Hotel, to consider forming a statewide organization that would permit developmental educators, counselors, and learning laboratory staff members to share information, ideas, and success stories about developmental education. Although instructors had initiated the meeting, administrators were invited to attend. This was to provide an insight into the political, fiscal, and structural issues associated with developmental education, to permit the instructors an opportunity to offer to the administrators their perceptions of the quality of the faculty/counselors/staff in developmental education and to acquaint administrators with successful programs that could be duplicated, with their support, on other campuses. During the process of the Executive Board s planning the conference, the Division of Community College became aware of the mission of the group and offered its support by providing the services of a liaison between the group and the Division. Dr. Stafford, who served as the liaison for several years, was instrumental VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1 President s Message in the formation of the organization which became known as the Florida Developmental Education Association. The first conference was held March 9-11, 1978, at the Hilton Inn South in Orlando, Florida, with an attendance of 120 educators, all of whom were made members of the Association. The unexpectedly high number of attendants was testimony to the Executive Board and to others of the need for the organization and the success of the first conference of the Florida Developmental Education Association. Conferences have since been held annually. This brings us to our organization as it exists today. Our organization can only be as strong as the members that support it. I would like to encourage you to reach out to your colleagues and have them join our organization. With all the changes that are happening in the field of developmental education, we need our voices to be heard. I would also like to remind you that through your college's institutional membership, students are able to apply for scholarships. This year, we are excited to be bringing you a contest where we will be asking students to redesign the FDEA logo. Contest information will be placed on the website and sent to all members by at the beginning of the spring term. The 2013 conference information should also be available in January. Should you have any questions about FDEA or have any ideas to share, please feel free to contact any board member. Our addresses and phone numbers are listed on the FDEA website. I look forward to bringing new members to our organization this year. ~Michael Vensel

2 FALL 2012 PAGE 2 Florida Developmental Educa on Associa on Nominations Committee: The Nominations Committee would like to announce our Executive Board for the year: President: Michael Vensel Miami Dade College - Kendall President-Elect: Chris Elder Florida Gateway College Treasurer: Shirley Rehberg Florida Gateway College Secretary: Meribeth Fields College of Central Florida Past President: Janita Patrick Tallahassee Community College The Nominations Committee welcomes our newest board members: Deborah Fontaine Northwest Florida State College Megan Glenn Florida State College at Jacksonville Marguerite Jones College of Central Florida Donna Martin Florida State College at Jacksonville We also welcome back the following elected members of the board: Marjorie Simon Palm Beach State College Karen Eisenhauer Brevard Community College Shirley Rehberg - Florida Gateway College Nick Bekas Valencia College Chris Elder Florida Gateway College Shanna Autry from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Florida Colleges, and Karen Nails-Porter, President of Florida College Reading Council, also serve as board members. If you are interested in serving on the board, read the announcement in this newsle er and send me your nomina ons. If you have any ques ons about FDEA business, please contact any board member.

3 FALL 2012 PAGE 3 FLORIDA DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER Developmental Education: It s Future and How You Can Help As I write this, 24 hours ago the country was glued to their television and computers, awaiting the results of the presidential election. It was not a shock that the president was voted in for another four years. However, the margin by which he won was not expected. Unlike the election results, we, as developmental educators, must not be caught off guard by the plethora of institutional, state and national changes in education. We must lay each brick together, working through our differences to provide a solid foundation for what should be our constant focus, our students. At the FDEA state conference this November 2-3 at the Florida State College of Jacksonville representatives of the Florida Department of Education gave a wonderful overview of the many changes happening at the state and national levels. One of the main focuses was the Common Core State Standards, which will provide the solid foundation mentioned above. When formed, these K-12 standards were not taken lightly. Education benchmarks from around the world were analyzed to help form an internationally competitive framework for the United States. It is exciting to know that a greater emphasis will be put on real world applications, integrating subjects like reading and writing, research, and so much more. I encourage you to start studying the standards to strengthen your curriculum and improve your methods of instruction. Don't be caught off guard. Such improvements will prepare our students even more for their future endeavors. There are many ways we can work together to improve our instruction. Conferences such as NADE and FDEA allow us to network with fellow developmental educators. There are many great practices in Florida ranging from redesigns to collaborative learning to methods of selfreflection. Submit these presentations to national conferences like NADE and The College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). The field of education must be in a constant dialogue. We must not only listen to the ideas of others but share practices of our own. Conferences are not the only avenue to achieve this. Online webinars allow us to share ideas without leaving home. Journals such as the Journal of Developmental Education, from NADE, is yet another medium to share your exciting ideas. Furthermore, what are ways you can dialogue with your own faculty and staff within your department? The state of education is at a critical turning point and the chains of communication must remain strong at all levels. The Common Core State Standards have been adopted by 46 states, but their near national acceptance doesn't mean high ranking officials developed them. Educators on all levels, including developmental educators, helped form these criteria. It is imperative that we play an active role in their adaptation and implementation. This was highlighted with our conference theme: "Improving Student Success with Florida's Best Practices". These best practices come from you. Education doesn't begin from the top. It begins in the classroom, the long hours grading essays and through the frustration of finding that great You Tube video for your students which you now can't seem to find. The theme of the NADE 2013 conference is "Pioneering the Education Frontier". Let's keep mining for those gold nuggets and shouting at the top of our lungs when we do. ~ Chris Elder

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9 FALL 2012 PAGE 9 FLORIDA DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER Who Are Florida s Developmental Education Students? The largest percentage of students taking developmental education classes in Florida s twenty-eight community colleges are over the age of twenty years.

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12 FALL 2012 PAGE 12 FLORIDA DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Division of Florida Colleges, Florida Department of Education CASSANDRA BROWN Coordinator, Postsecondary Readiness Cassandra Brown is the Coordinator of Postsecondary Readiness in the Division of Florida Colleges. She reports to the Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and is responsible for activities and programs related to college-readiness, Common Core State Standards, secondary-postsecondary collaboration and curriculum alignment. She serves as the liaison between the Division of Public Schools and the Division of Florida Colleges. Cassandra is responsible for establishing and maintaining contact with school district and college liaisons for college readiness assessment and instruction. She also coordinates with the Division of Public Schools to provide professional development to teachers and college faculty members on Common Core State Standards and postsecondary preparatory instruction. Cassandra serves as the postsecondary liaison for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Previously, Cassandra was a seventh grade Language Arts and Reading teacher and Director of Field Experience in the College of Education at Florida State University. Cassandra holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Florida. Her Master s degree is in English Education from Florida State University. She is currently working on her doctorate in Education Policy Analysis and Evaluation at Florida State University. SHANNA AUTRY Coordinator, Academic Program Support Shanna Autry is the Coordinator of Academic Program Support in the Division of Florida Colleges. She reports to the Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and works with Florida colleges as the liaison to Teacher Preparation Programs, including Educator Preparation Institutes, Developmental Education Programs, International Education Programs, and English for Academic Purposes Programs. Previously, she has served as Educational Policy Analyst in Academic and Student Affairs on the State University System of Florida Board of Governors; Program Coordinator at Florida State University s College of Social Work, and an Academic Advisor at Florida State University s College of Social Science and Policy Studies. Shanna earned her Doctorate in Education in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Education with a concentration in Sport Studies and Psychology from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from University of Georgia.

13 FALL 2012 PAGE 13 FLORIDA DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER MARJORIE SIMON PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE 3160 PGA BOULEVARD PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL We hope your Fall 2012 term has gone well. The FDEA Board hopes you have renewed your membership and are encouraging colleagues to join. We have updated our membership list, and all past members who have not renewed their memberships will no longer receive the newsletter. The FDEA Newsletter is published twice a year (or as needed). Articles should be kept to a maximum of 1,000 words in Microsoft Word format. Explicit guidelines are available from the editor, Marjorie Simon. The FDEA Board Members also encourage news items from affiliates and other organizations. The Editor and Board Members reserve the right to edit any material submitted. Submit articles to: simonm@palmbeachstate.edu. Membership Has Its Benefits Benefits of FDEA individual and institutional membership include: receiving the FDEA newsletter and information about the state conference sharing instructional and research information and networking with other developmental educators providing input to state agencies and receiving information about issues from the Division of Florida Colleges eligibility for students of your institution to apply for FDEA and FCRC scholarships Please contact our Membership Chairs to join or renew. Membership forms are on the FDEA website. For Institutional Membership Contact: Deborah Fontaine FDEA Institutional Membership Chair Northwest Florida State College For Individual Membership Contact: Karen Eisenhauer FDEA Individual Membership Chair Brevard Community College 100 College Boulevard, East 250 Community College Parkway Niceville, FL Palm Bay FL We re on the Web! FDEA: NADE: FCRC: LEGISLATIVE UPDATES: and